Brown Changemakers: Spotlight on Education

Don't miss this extraordinary panel of Brown alumni, all
distinguished in the field of nonprofits and education, who'll talk about their
work and how they are fundamentally changing education for youth and families everywhere.

The
Brown Club in NYC is excited to invite you to an alumni panel focusing on the
intersection of education, nonprofits, and community development. Panelists
will share their experiences and provide insight into the strategies their
organizations employ to close the education gap in NYC and beyond. Guests will
then have the opportunity to pose questions to the panelists about their
careers and doing well by doing good.

Dana Edell, Ph.D, Executive Director, SPARK
Movement (’98):
At SPARK Movement, an intergenerational girls’ activist organization, Dana
collaborates with girls to launch successful action campaigns including a media
campaign that led to Seventeen Magazine’s public promise to never Photoshop
girl models and to commit to race and body size diversity in their pages. She
trains and supports girls (ages 13-22) to take action, produce theater, create
videos and write blogs. Dana was co-chair of the Girls’ Participation Task
Force at the United Nations and she teaches Theatre and Activism at New York
University and the City University of New York.

Amy Kantrowitz, COO, Free Arts NYC (MA’92): Amy has two decades of nonprofit
experience and currently serves as COO of Free Arts NYC, an arts education
nonprofit that provides underserved children with a unique combination of
educational arts and mentoring programs. Amy has worked with some of NYC’s
leading education and youth development organizations, including New Visions
for Public Schools, and The After-School Corporation - this path emerged
directly from her Brown MAT, work with Professor Ted Sizer at the Coalition of
Essential Schools, and VISTA year at the Swearer Center for Public Service.

Josh Landay, Director, Eye to Eye Diplomats (’02): Josh is a professional
actor, teaching artist, and non-profit program director. He serves as Director
of the speakers bureau of Eye to Eye, a national nonprofit
organization for students with learning disabilities. Since launching the Diplomats program in
2011, Mr. Landay has developed and coordinated over 250 public engagement presentations,
including events at the White House and the U.S. Department of Education. He
has also performed in Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway as well as in the West
End, Las Vegas, and the first national tour.

Khary Lazarre-White, Executive Director &
Co-Founder, The Brotherhood/Sister Sol (’95): Khary is a social
entrepreneur, educator, non-profit executive, writer and attorney. In 1995 he
co-founded The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, a nationally renowned, comprehensive
youth development and educational organization that provides rites of passage
programming, after school care, counseling, summer camps, job training, college
preparation and scholarships, employment opportunities, community organizing training,
legal representation, and month long international study programs to Africa and
Latin America. Khary has extensive experience as a public speaker across the
country, writes regular opinion pieces for The Huffington Post, and essays for
publications that have included NYU Press, Nation Books, and MSNBC.com.

Carlos Lejnieks, CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson, & Union
Counties (’00): Lejnieks took over an atrophied Big Brothers Big Sisters agency
in 2008 and, within four years, went from serving approximately 100 youth to
serving well over 1,100. Under his leadership, BBBS has received numerous
awards from local, state and national entities, including a formal recognition
by President Obama. Lejnieks has served on President Barack Obama’s Regional
Finance Committee, Governor Chris Christie’s Education Transition Team and
Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s Transition Team. In 2016, he was the NY Yankees “Civic
Leader Spotlight”.

Shalinee Sharma, Executive Director
& Board Member, Zearn (’98): Zearn Math was created to fix math education for all kids. It offers
an internationally-normed, rigorous curriculum that combines personalized
digital lessons with daily targeted small group instruction so that every
teacher can reach every student, every day.

STAY CONNECTED

The Brown University Club in New York offers alumni in and around New York City an exciting way to engage with each other and their alma mater.